Here are some of the scary facts from The Hot Zone that just might keep you up at night:
- The Marburg virus and the three identified strains of Ebola are Level 4 agents. "A Level 4 hot agent is a lethal virus for which there is no vaccine and no cure."
- "No one knew where any of (these) filoviruses came from; no one knew where they lived in nature...And they didn't know exactly how the virus spread, or how it jumped from host to host."
- "The worst of them was Ebola Zaire. The kill rate in humans infected with Ebola Zaire is nine out of ten. Ebola Zaire is a slate wiper in humans."
- "From the moment Ebola enters your bloodstream, the war is already lost...you can't fight off Ebola the way you fight off a cold." (Although some people do recover from it.)
- "We don't really know what Ebola has done in the past, and we don't know what it might do in the future."
- "....viruses never go away; they only hide..."
Happy Reading!
Other "scary" reads to check out:
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC by Joseph B. McCormick
That quote "....viruses never go away; they only hide..." is truly terrifying!
ReplyDeleteI know! It made me paranoid all week about what I may be touching or coming in contact with. :D
DeleteGeeze! Freaky.
ReplyDeleteRight?
DeleteI think this would give me serious nightmares. I love a good virus/apocalyptic story -- as long as it's fictional!
ReplyDeleteParts of this one read like fiction. ;D
DeleteReality can be more frightening than fiction!
ReplyDeleteYes! I can see where all those horror/zombie movies get their material, though. From books like this one!
DeleteThis kind of thing really interests me as I'm fascinated by things like Ebola...fiction, NF, docs, films...I just don't get time to read NF these days!
ReplyDeleteI find Ebola fascinating, too. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's so scary. (And I know what you mean about finding room in your reading life for non-fiction books; I've worked really hard this year to fit them in.)
DeleteI can't believe I still haven't read this yet. I think I'm more scared to read it now than I was when I got it.
ReplyDeleteIt does freak you out just a little bit. :D
DeleteThese books terrify me but I love them. We are all doomed!!
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteIt'll be a scary book for me to read yet an informative and an important one.
ReplyDeleteThat's the perfect way to sum this book up. :)
DeleteThis would scare me to pieces--but I would also be fascinated and not be able to stop reading. I like how you reviewed it--very effective!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was one of those books I couldn't stop reading either. :)
DeleteYes! Every once in a while I like to read books like this (I read Hot Zone years ago and it still stays with me) They are scary but SO INTERESTING. What a weird world we live in.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it?
DeleteThe books I find most frightening are often non-fiction. This sounds like a fascinating read, even if scary. Thanks for sharing, Lark!
ReplyDeleteFunny how fascinating and frightening so often go hand in hand. :)
DeleteI have this book on my TBR list. Don't know why these diseases are so fascinating. I read The Lassa Ward by Dr. Ross Donaldson. Lassa is similar to Marburg & Ebola. It is about his experiences as a young medical student in the Lassa ward in Sierra Leone. Great book. I will have to move The Hot Zone up my list!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look for Lassa Ward at the library! :)
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